Well our month in Cochabamba is coming to an end. We didn´t see all the sights we would have liked to, we never made it to Torotoro for instance, but it´s been a great month just the same. We´ve met so many people and gained some really good experience running a hostel. Especially since Lhotse left for La Paz and was gone over 2 weeks. We were pretty much in charge. True to form I of course took control although I don´t think anyone minded. No one else wanted the responsibility. With my very limited Spanish and her non existent English Favi and I managed to muddle through. She workes every morning cleaning, changing beds and making breakfast. Between hand signals and smoke signals we were able to make ourselves understood most of the time.
Josh has been sick a few times as have I although he got it really bad once. Maria got sick around the same time and collapsed on the floor. I tried to convince her to go to the hospital and I figured she was dehydrated but of course she refused to go. I told her it was either that or she had to dring the nasty rehydration salts. She managed to get a couple litres down throughout the night and by the following evening was looking much better. If also happened to be our busiest week yet. Of course Meshud was away in Torotoro through all this so needless to say I was more than a little stressed.
Miski Wasi is a really comfortable hostel and a lot of guests that have come through ended up staying much longer than they planned. Business has steadily increased while we have been here and it´s been very rewarding hearing the feedback and being part of the growth of the hostel. Cochabamba, although a large city, is also very comfortable and approachable. We´ve done a lot of wandering and exploring and have always felt safe.
We had just 2 guests with us for Christmas Eve dinner but it was a really nice evening. We managed to find some Christmas music and Josh cooked a wonderful meal as usual. Christmas day and couple of the hostel partners brough some traditional food to share with us for dinner and Josh got a bit of break from cooking.
Today Leon took us hiking in Colomi. It´s on the edge of the cloud forest and is a really beautiful area. There is a lot of development in the area of the town but once you get beyond that the roads are dirt and there is no power. The houses are much more basic and spread out. It´s a very rich agricultural area. They grown many kinds of potatoes and horse beans among other produce, which is distributed throughout Bolivia. We hiked through the countryside and then along a river. After forging the river a couple times over wet slippery rocks and more than a few wet feet we arrived at the top of a waterfall. The landscape changes so quickly from relatively dry to lush and green. It´s rainy season so the weather was misty with light rain but not enough to stop us. It was really beautiful and mostly unspoiled country, aside from a few plastic water bottles of course.
Lhotse returned from La Paz yesterday so we´ve handed the reigns back over to her and as sad as we are to leave we´re ready for our next adventure. In typical Bolivia fashion the bus I booked to take us from La Paz to Cusco has decided at the last minute not to go. We're heading for La Paz tonight as I don't know now what will be involved in getting to Cusco and I want to make sure we're there for New Years. For some reason the driver would not put our bags in the cargo hold so I ended up with mine at my feet all night, Josh managed to stash his at the back of the aisle. After a not so great sleep we arrived in La Paz and after 2 hours in the bus station we hopped on a supposedly direct bus to Cusco. Here's hoping.
Actually the bus trip was fine. 2 hours at the border but that's to be expected and some flooding and awful roads through Juliaca we arrived in Cusco 4 hours late.
Thank you to all of you in Cochabamba who made us feel so welcome and, we´ll miss you.
If you´re ever in Cochabamba the hostel to stay at is definitely Miski Wasi. Tell them Laurie & Josh say hi!
